Simultaneous intensifier feed for separate shears



' 1,616,856 l c. `l.. HUsToN SIMULTANEOUS INTENSFIEB FEED FOR SEPARATESHEARS Feb, s, 1927.

" Fileduuiy 24, 1922' sshets-sheet 1l .SIMULTANEOUS AWENSIFIEH E'ED'Fo'RSEPARATE sHEARs iled July 24, 1922l -3 sheets-shew'I 5 l 'l' su.

' o o if [algas/5d:

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Patented Fels. 8, 1927.

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terasse CHARLES k'.L.'HTJ'STLONQ 'OF COATESVILLE, ENNSYLVANIA.

Application tiled July '24,

y My invention relates to the hydraulic operation concurrently of two ormore shears upon heavy sheet material.

vThe purpose of my invention is to synchronize .the movements vin theshears operated, throughout the range of effective operation.

'A v'further purpose is to maintain ,equal hydraulic pressures and equalrates and quantities ofhydraulic flow upon the rams of the severalcylinders used. Y

`A further purpose is to supply different shears from' separate highpressure cylininders of the same intensifier, preferably grouped inpairs across the intensifier axis, synchronizing' the cylinders of thesame shear, where more than one cylinder is used, by the same means ofseparate intensifier cylinder supply or mechanically as best suits theconditions of the case.

Further purposes will appear in the -speciheat-ion and in the claims.

My invention relates to the processes involved and also to mechanism bywhich these processes may be carried out.

I have preferred to illustrate my invention by a few simple diagrammaticforms only forthe hydraulic connections,v in c onjunction with furtherdetail as to a pair of shears to which the invention may be Iapplied.selecting` these forms because of their suitability forillustration ofthe principles of the hydraulic and mixed hydraulic and mechanicalcontrol invented by me.

`Figure 1 is a perspective view 'showing a pair of opposed parallelshears to which my invention is applied.

Figure 2 is a section, largely comprisinga top plan view of a pair ofshears ofthe general character shown in Figure 1, omit-- ting the pullback cylinders and bearing caps andadding diagrammatic intensifierconnection vfor the main shear cylinders.

Figures 3 and 4 show. diagrammatically, a pair of opposed parallelshears having two cylinders each, supplied through different Ahydraulicconnections.

Figure 5 shows diagrammatically a pair of single cylinder shears withhydraulic connections therefor. In the -drawings similar numeralsindicate like parts.

v Though my invention is applicable to -synchronous operation ofhydraulic shears having a single cylinder each orfany plurality 192e.sensi No. 576,999.

of cylinders each, or of hydraulic yshears i having a differentnurnberof cylinders, one having more than the other', I have preferred toselect for my main illustrationl .a pair of hydraulicshears having .twomain cylinders-each and operating simultaneously upon the same plate,because the varyingV leverage met with bythe plungers moving these shearblades present the most difficult problem for application of myinvention.

' The individual plungers must be synchroniZed -in each'machine, as well.as vthe two machines. In this form the. cont-rol of the two plungers ofthe same machine jis mechanical.y though, as seen from VFigures anl 1l,they could be controlled hydraulica y.

In vFigure 2, the high pressure cylinders 9, 10, 11 and 12 of anintensifier shown diagrammatically at 13, are joined by pipes 14 and 15with distributing pipes 16, 16', .17, 17. By-pass 18, is controlledby avalve 19, which is normally closed. Vhen it is desired to operate eithershear alone this valve is opened and valve 19 or 192 is closedto cut olfone or other of the shears. .Obviously all three-valves 19,19, 192 canbe combined in -a single structure for simultaneous operation or beoperated bysuitable combination of control mechanism to simplify orfacilitate the accomplishment of .the same object.

The distributing pipes Vconnect through swivel joints 20,21 with highpressure (main) operating cylinders 22 and 23, 22 and 23', in the twoshears 24C and 25.

In each shear the plungers 26 of these several cylinders are .connectedby vlinks 27 with therear ends 28 of levers V29. These leversv are keyedto a common shaft 30. The opposite ends 31 of these levers are connectedby pitman 32 with the upper beam V33 carrying the upper shear blade 34.e Two intermediate levers31, also keyed to the shaft, are connected tothe upper beam through pitmen 32. The shaft is mounted in bearings 35,.

The lower knife 34 is secured to a fixed beam 36. The pull backcylinders .35 are constantly connected by pipe 37 with an accumulator(not shown) so that the fluid within thepull back cylinders flows ,fromthem'into the accumulator with downward movement of the` shear beam butthel constant accumulator pressure lifts the plung- CIR ` ofthedifiierent resistances met with by these shears in their in vement;and it will be noter that the operation of each shear from a separatepair of high pressure cylinders ensures equaliz'edV fluid supply to theshears, whatever the number of shear cylinders. Moreover the grouping ofthe high pressure Vintensifier cylinders shown, connecting cylinders '9and ll across the axisof the main steain intensifier cylinder, andcylinders lO and l2 across the anis for the' supply of the second shear,balances the pressure hydraulically in the intensifier as toavoideanting .pressure upon the steam piston rod of the intensifier evenif 'one shear only be overcoming resistance. lt will be evident alsothat this same forni of intensifier high pressure connection may be ledthrough supply pipes ll and l2 to any two hydraulic shears having asinglecylinder each or cylinders maintained in syncliroiiisin bymechanical means, and the broad invention is independent of thesediiferenccs in detail of application.

.'whe machine shown in Figures l and 2, in so fai' as it has beendescribed, is intended to be typical also of all hydraulic machineshaving `a plurality of cylinders and in which the movement ofthecylinders, plungers or rams is mechanically synchronized.

However, for the purpose of laying a foundation `in this application forfurther applications upon inventions made by me l haveshown a number ofadditional features in connection with these shears relating to theadjustment of the distance between the shears, the relief of theinovable'sliear knife from the lined shear knife during upward movementof the former, the lifting of the plate sheared free from the fixedshear knife after the cut, and a scrap-cutting knife used in.connectiony with the heel or toe of the main knife, all of which areadvantageous for use in connection witii the hydraulic-orhydraulic-inechanical synchronisin of separate shears but are ofadvantage also in shears which are wholly independent in operation. Y

rlfhough the shears intended for simultaneous operation may occupy anypositions required by the work to be performed, and special worlrwillrequire special placing, it is ordinarily desirable to mount the shearsYface to face, so 'that they can operate upon opposite sides or oppositeends ofl the saine plate, and to adjust the distance between ,shaftingor other source of power not shown.

ln order to provide for lateral release of `the upper shear knives upontheir upward strokes and at the sainev time to maintain properengagement between the upper and `lower knives upon the downward stroke,l

displace the upper (movable) beams of the two shears laterally for thedownward stroke from the planes in which they would move by gravityalone, by ineans of movable guioes. 'lhese divert the upper shear knivesinto line with the respective lower shear knives. it the end of theshearing strokes l n'iove the guides, permitting the Lipper beams tofall back from the lower beams for the upward strokes. l accomplish thisby lthe use of wedges 45 whose front faces act as guides for the beamsandwhich, in the lower wedge aositions maintainl the upper knives inline to cooperate with the 2' lower blade for the shearingfunction. lnthe upper wedge positions the wedges allow the beains and knives to fallaway from the shearing plane. rllhis relieves the movable knives freinengagement with the lined knives and with the work on the upward stroke.Y

Considering a single shear v The wedges are lifted by links 46 Vupon oneend each of levers il Vpivoted at d8. The other ends of these levers areconnected by rods i9 with levers 50 having sliding connection withoscillatory shafts 5l, 5l. These shafts are squared so that the shaftscan slide through the levers without losing this oscillatory connectionwhen the shears are moved toward and from each other. shafts are turnedby lever arms 52 connecting with links operated by'a eain or projectionat 5e upon across head 55. The cross-head is reciprocated in guides 56by the piston rod 57 of a hand-controlled operating cylinder 5S. rlliecross-head or pis- The iio

ton rod is connected by rod 59 with valveV 60 controlling steamadmission andenhaust to and from the mai i intensifier cylinder.

The tuning is such that the wedges are lifted automatically Vprior tothe openingot'V Y the intensifier exhaust, and, hence, prior toA thelifting Yof the upper bezien by the rams of the pull back cylinders. @nthe reversek stroke the cani operation so timed that the wedges are setbefore the steam `valves are opened to apply intensifier pressurefto themain tooll cylii'ide'rs..V Two rods 5l, 5l are used vin Aorder tooperate the Ywedes at the opposite ends Vof the two machines, and theconnections between the shafts and the wedges are the saine in all fourpositions.

One of the shafts which is rocked to lift the-wedges'and allow them tolower, is connected at each machine withy a bell crank 63. throughlever-61, slidable upon but oscilk lating with the shaft, and `a link 62engaging the bell crank. 'The latter is contime that the wedgesarelifted and prior to theupward stroke of the beam.

At the trailing ends of the main shear knives I place separate upper andlower cutting knives, placedV at an angle't'o and con-V necting with themain cutting knives for the4V purpose of cutting off the scrap. Thelower of these scrap cutting shear knives isshown In operationz-So faras the synchronizing ofthe two shears, and the two ends of the sameshear are concerned, the operation is extremely simple. Starting with,the movable beams in their upper positions, movement of the piston oftheV control cylin- V der first causes theV rollers 66 and wedges 45 tolower. 'lliewedges force the upper beam out until its knife is in theshearing plane. As further movement of this control piston causes thesteam valve of the intensifier to open, hydraulic intensifier pressureis admitted simultaneously and in equal quantity to the two shears.Except for the mechanical connection between the plungers,

the water supplied to each shear in the forms of'Figures 1 and Q'wouldbe free to divide between its two cylinders, filling first that cylinderin which least resistance vis met.

Ifiith the connection through the shaft, the rate of water input to themain cylinders of each individual shear is kept uniform and the controlis a combination of hy draulic and mechanical control, being hydraulicin so `far as the two shears .are concerned rand mechanical within theindividual shears. y

As the upper beam moves downwardly by reason of the Vintensifierpressure, the fluid within the pull back cylinders is forcedv back intothe accumulator, from which it subsequently flows to lift the upper beamas soon as the exhaust of steam pressure fromthe main intensifiercylinder permits the pullback pressure to liftl the upper shear beam andforce the water vin the main-shear cylinders Lback into the intensifiercylinders.

Preliminary to opening of the steam'exhaust from the intensifier thewedges are v lifted, permitting the upper beam and knife to fall away(laterally) from Vthe lower beam and knife, and the rollers 66 arelifted. he upper'knife is thus freed from contact with the lower knifeand with lthe plate, giving a free upward stroke for theupperknife,fandtlieplate is lifted clear of thelower knife.

'Ihe operations ofthe distance adjustment between the shears land thescrap Vcutting; knife are. obvious.

'In-the form-shown in Figure 3 I have'l applied myV inventiondiagrammatically to two hydraulic shcarsli2 or 252,-having'twocylindersQQz, 232 each, connecting asepa- Y rate highv pressureintensier cylinder 9, 10,y 11 and 12fthrough separate piping 14, 142,

15, 152 with each ofthe four cylindersfof the shears. This insures equalflow o'f'high pressure liquid to each cylinder but, in case of unequal,resistance at the f shears, tends to throw Vthe intensier plungers outIof line and would make it desirable toprovide additionalside -supportinthe -forin of guides or long lbearing surfaces for tlieplungers in orderto `maintain' them in .axial line. The entire Y synchronization here ishydraulic.

In Figure 4, I have shown hydraulic shears 243, `253, of any character,lhavin-g separate cylinders 222, 232 fed by separate linesofpiping 14,142, 15', 152 from high pressure intensier cylinders, which-in this caseare balanced across the axis of inten sifierplun-ger movement, in thateach cylinderv 222, 132 is fed nfrom two'intensifie'r cyl inders suchas'9 and 11, 9 and 11', 10 and 12, 10 and 12', with the purpose andeffect' of balancing the intensifier mechanically as well'ashydraulically, as in the case ofthe intensifier shown in Figure@ so thatthere will be, no tendency to cant the intensifier plungers and eachvshear cylinder will receive the same rate and quantity of `liy-`draulio flow. yThis control also is purely hydraulic.

It will be seen, therefore, that there are various ways inv which thecylinders may be insured uniform rates of fluid flow, pro

It will be obvious that thesame principles .which make my inventionspecially'valuable for shears make it` desirable also for use withhydraulic tools generally, rincluding punches and presses of every.type, whether with a single cylinder each or a pluralityvof cylinderseach, and, in connection with my other illustration, already described,I show the synchronization ofjtwo tools having' one cylinder each inFigure 5 to point this fact.` LThe high pressure intensifieif cylindersare coupled across theceiiter as in Figure 2 so as to supply each toolcylinder V222 with intensifier liquid 'from fifi ll() v balanced highpressure intensifier cylinders.

Uniform rate of flow of liquid to the lcylinders is controlled byhydraulic means l'n all of the forms either'one of Ythe opposing shearscan be operated without the f other by opening the ley-pass valve 19'and the valve 19 or 192 in the connections to the shear to be used andclosing 'the valve 192er 19 in the connections to the shear which is notto be used. This is oit advantage to gain additional speed', to cut theedges of tapered sheets or to economize on power and to sateguardagainst undue concentration of intensiticr pressure on the one shearwhile it is being used alone.

lt will be obvious that in the event ot coupling a two-cylinderhydraulic tool to operate sin'iultaneously with a single cylinder,

hydraulic tool,v either the two-cylinder tool would best be 'fed fromtwice the number of high pressure intensifier cylinders that is used tofeed the single cylinder hydraulic tool or the plunger of the singlecylinder should be given an operative area equal to the operative areasof the two cylinders of the other tool. However, any predeterg `minedproportions may be maintained by which the ite-ed to the two toolsprovides equal movements in both, with simultaneous operation. Y

It will be evident also that though, 'for convenience` l have referredto the source oi' hydraulic` pressure as an intensifier, because theintensifier is more economical and more generally available thananyot-her source of corresponding pressures (and the question of whetheror not the final pressure used upon the shear be greater than that whichis applied to the primary piston of this fluid source is immaterial tomy invention since l contemplate no other requirement from it;

than that it shall distribute equally and uniformly from differentcylinders) it would therefore serve my purpose equallywell it amulti-cylinder pump were used, with proper what I termY an intensifierin my speci tication and claims is not an essential feature but the tialfeature.

sub-division and direction i. e., equalized e is-V tribution of theenergy obtained at the requi- Y' site pressure,y however secured, is theessenltis my purpose therefore that the word intensifier be read withthis meaning.

, It Willbe obvious that all or a part of my invention may be presentedin ,other forms,

as Ywellas in other tools7 as'appeals to the whim or need of thoseskilled in the art; and it is my purpose to include all such forms andtool applications within my invention as come within its reasonablespirit and scopel Having' thus described my invention, what I claimasnewY and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. ln the art ofoperating hydraulic shears',V the novelty which consists in syn--chronizing hydraulically the operation of the movable blades of twoseparate pairs of shearing blades cutting in different planes,' one`pair from the other, and operating them hydraulically upon the sameWork.

2. In the invention according lto claim l,

the novelty Vwhich consists in supplying the 4f cylinders for operationot the movable blades of the dillerent pairs of blades from di'tierenthigh pressure cylinders'of the same intensifier. n i

8. In the invention according to claim l, the novelty which consists insynchronizing` the operation of the separate cylinders for operation ofthe same movable blades and concurrently synchronizing the operation otthe movable blades ofthe separate pairs.Y

4L. ln the art oit operating the cylinders ot dii-ferent hydraulicshears cutting in differ-k ent planes by pressure from different highpressure cylinders of the same intensifier5 ther novelty which consistsin connecting different cylinders of the same shear to separateintensilier high pressure cylinders, so as to synchronize the cylindersof the shear as` well as to synchronize the shears.

5. In the artvot operating the cylinders of dierent hydraulic shearscutting in 'diilerent planes by pressure from the different highpressure cylinders of the same intensi tier.` the novelty which consistsin uniting the high pressure intensilier cylinders in pairs staggeredacross the axis ot the intensifier and in connecting the pairs withv thecylin-V ders of the different hydraulic shears.

6. ln the art of operating cylinders of different hydraulicY shearscutting' Vin diferf;

ent planes from different high pressure c vlindeis oi' the sameintensifier arranged in pairs. staggered across'the axis ottheintensitier. the novelty whichconsists in sup` plying the cylindersot the individual shearsl also from separate'pairs ot intensiiier4cylinders.

7. [i pair ot'facing hydraulic shears cutting in diiterent'planes incombination with intensitier means for synchronizing their operation.

8. A pair oit il iid-'controlled facing opposite-counterpartreciprocating shears7 ink combination with cominonineans for supplyingluid'to operate them synchronously.`

9. Two hydraulic shears cutting'in differ- Y y ent planes lhaving acommon intensiiier con' nection.

10. A pair of hydraulic shears having two cylinders each, one at eachend of the shear and a cylinder and piston controlling flow of operatingfluid to each of the four shear cylinders and common to all of them.

11. Two hydraulic shears cutting in different planes and each havingoperating cylinders, in combination with a single intensifier havingseparate hydraulic cylinders connected to the operating cylinders of theshears. Y 1

12. Two hydraulic shears cutting in different planes having twocylinders each vin combination with a single intensifier supplying thecylinders f both shears.

18. A pair of hydraulic shears cutting in different planes having twocylinders each in combination with intensifier operating andsynchronizing mechanism therefor balanced with respect to the axis ofthe intensifier'.

14. An intensifier having separate high pressure cylinders and a pair ofhydraulic shears cutting in different planes operated simultaneouslyfrom different cylinders thereof and synchronized to move both `shearsat the same rate of speed.

15. Two hydraulic shears cutting in different planes having twooperating` cylinders for each shear in combination with hydraulic meansfor synchronizing the movements in the two cylinders of one shear withrespect to the two cylinders of the other shear and in each cylinder ofeach shear as respects the other cylinder of the same shear.

16. rl`wo hydraulic shears cutting in different planes having twooperating cylinders each, in combination with an intensifierhaving aplurality of high pressure cylinders and separate connections from eachof the shear cylinders to a different one ofV an equal number of highpressure intensifier cylinders.

17. A pair of hydraulic shears cutting in different planes having aplurality of cylinders each, in combination with a single 1n- `tensifierhaving separate high pressure intensifier cylinder connection for eachcylinder of the hydraulic shears to synchronize the operation of all ofthe cylinders;

18. Two hydraulic shears cutting in different planes having twooperating cylinders each, in combination with an intensifier supplyingsaid cylinders and having eight high pressure intensifier cylindersarting indifferent planes, cylinders for oper- Y ation of the separateshears,y means foradjusting. the shears with respect to each other andan intensifier and connections feeding the cylinders of both shears.

21. Av'pair of parallel vhydraulic shears cutting in different planeshaving knives each of which begins to cut at the same end and in whichthe Vcutting point progresses 1n the same direction in both shears,incombination with hydraulic synchronizing means for the two shears. e

22. A pair of parallel hydraulic shears lcutting in dierent planeshaving knives each of whichbegins to cut at the same end and,`

in whichthe cutting point progresses in the same direction in bothshears, in combination with hydraulic synchronizing` means for the twoshears and means for synchronizing the movements of opposite ends ofeachof the individual shears.

23. A pair of hydraulic shears cutting in different planesV havingoperating cylinders, an intensifier having a number of high pressurecylinders, operating connections to the cylinders of the shears fromdifferent ones of the intensifier cylinders and by-pass connections fordiverting the operating fluid fromthe high pressure cylinders connectedwith one shear to assist in the operation of the` other shear.

24E. A pair of opposite counterpart guil-l lotine shears having theknives cutting progressively n the same general direction and placedfacing each other to cut on opposite sides of the same work, cylindersand connections for fluid operation of each of the she-ars, anintensifier and connections from the high pressure cylinders of theintensifier to the cylinders of the two shears whereby 'the shears areoperated in unison.

CHARLES L. HUSTON.

